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WILKES-BARRE — In a meeting with a packed agenda, the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted to keep any tax increase within a state limit of 3.2 percent and renewed the charter for the Bear Creek Community Charter School.
Directors also approved submission of the next batch of documents required by the state for reimbursement of the new high school, and approved 11 change orders for contract work at the high school site. The change orders led to a net increase cost of $76,824.
And all that was just a warm-up.
The board gave a preliminary green light to a request regarding a tax break for a $30 million mixed-use project in Plains Township (not approving the tax break itself); approved a grievance settlement with an employee granting her $70,914 in pay if she resigns; rescinded a long-standing policy requiring most contracted work to be union in reaction to a Commonwealth Court ruling; and approved a policy regarding the new Safe2Say Something anonymous school tip program mandated by the state.
The tips, provided via an app, email or phone, are processed by a state-run center and relayed to districts on a three-tier priority. The board adopted a policy prepared by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association detailing numerous aspects of local response and term definitions.
The vote to limit any tax hike is not a vote for a tax hike. The state law known as Act 1 established an annual index that can vary from district to district and year to year. If a district votes in January to stay within the limit, the board has until the end of May to approve a preliminary budget. The limit can be exceeded with voter approval or state approval for any of three exemptions. Pursuing either of those options requires approving a preliminary budget in February.
The charter school renewal is required under the state law authorizing charters, which are public schools free of many state regulations established with approval of a charter by the school district. Bear Creek faced strong opposition from Wilkes-Barre Area and ultimately was approved by a state appeals board in 2004, but the five-year re-authorizations in 2009 and 2014 were uneventful. Thursday’s vote reauthorizes it from Aug. 31, 2019, to Aug.31, 2024.
LERTA, grievance
The documents submitted to the state are part of the PlanCon system to determine any reimbursement the state may give for the new consolidated high school in Plains Township. There are 11 steps labeled PlanCon A through PlanCon K. The board approved PlanCon F, relating to construction documents prior to and after putting the project out to bid. Contracts can’t be awarded until the state approves PlanCon F.
The meeting opened with a pitch for approval of a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance, or LERTA, by Attorney Francis Hoegen related to a planned 215,515 square-foot building near the Riverfront development in Plains Township. Developers are asking the district, county and township to keep the property tax-free for 10 years, with an expected increase in annual property taxes of about $790,000 afterward. About 70 percent of that would go to the district.
The board was not asked to approve the LERTA, but to give a green light to a series of public meetings by the developer to explain the project and tax break. Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said he would do a cost-benefit analysis of tax money lost versus what is gained before the board votes on the LERTA.
Wendolowski also asked the board to approve an agreement to settle a grievance filed by Kristen Brisk, who was suspended for an unspecified reason. Brisk drops the case in exchange for the money, roughly one year of pay lost during the suspension. Her resignation is effective immediately and the payment is to be made by July 1.
Wendolowski said the board had to rescind a 2009 policy regarding union workers for contracted jobs because a Commonwealth Court ruling in a case six days ago cast doubt on the validity of such agreements. He said the board could not afford to wait for likely appeals while the high school project is underway. Barring some new agreement, it means contractors can use non-union labor on district projects.